Assuring quality of care for cancer survivors:

The survivorship care plan

By Mithi Govil, M.D.,M.S.

It is estimated that there are more than 14 million cancer survivors living in the United States. Following completion of initial treatment, more than 60 percent of individuals diagnosed with cancer will become long-term cancer survivors, living five years or more following their cancer diagnosis. Survival rates continue to increase such that by 2020, there will be an estimated 18 million cancer survivors in the US. These gains in survival are not without cost, and cancer survivors are at risk for a broad array of potential long-term and late effects of treatment. These include recurrent and new malignancies; increased morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular, skeletal, and other diseases; myriad physical effects such as peripheral neuropathy and lymphedema; and psychosocial distress that may impact work and social relationships.

Cancer survivors are a widely heterogeneous group in terms of sociodemographic and health characteristics such as comorbidities, as well as specific cancer diagnoses and treatment modalities, which may range from surgery alone to complex combination therapy with radiation, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, and/or targeted therapies. Thus, the issues, risks, and corresponding care needs of cancer survivors are both complex and widely variable, contributing to myriad challenges to quality care for this burgeoning population.

Both a treatment summary and Survivorship Care Plan should be prepared by the principal oncology provider and delivered to patients upon completion of treatment. For patients living after cancer, an ideal Survivorship Care Plan should be easy-to-read with understandable language, include contact information for all providers, and provide clear direction on who to contact, for what concerns, and when.

Primary care Providers and survivors alike believe that Survivorship Care Plans would help improve the quality and coordination of survivorship care, provided that they are tailored to individual needs, concerns, and risks, and clearly articulate what is expected of the survivor as well as those providers involved in their care.

Dr Mithi Govil is a Board certified Hematologist and Medical Oncologist in practice at New London Cancer Center. She has served this community for 33 years. She can be reached at 860-443-4455